An Ohio man has been sentenced to a 30 day jail sentence after prosecutors said the man shot his dog, a harlequin Great Dane named Bill, and left him to die.

But Judge Michael Cicconnetti said the man, Robert Clark, can reduce his prison sentence to only 10 days instead of 30 days if he dresses as “Safety Pup” and visits an elementary school with police supervision.

Clark has agreed to dress up in the costume as part of his punishment. The judge also banned Clark from owning an animal ever again.

Authorities said they found Bill bleeding and tied to a fence last year. He had to be euthanized because of the severity of his injuries.

12 Responses to “Man To Dress As “Safety Pup” As Part Of Punishment In Dog Shooting”

I have to think that Bill was agressive because he reflected what his owner showed him and what his owner neglected to teach him, if that was not the case, there were other ways to deal with the agression. What a beautiful dog he was if that picture is him. That is such a cold blooded thing to do, tied to a fence and shot, suffering. This guy deserves much more severe punishment than dressing in a dog suit, literally making a joke out of Bill’s awful suffering and death.

My very educated guess is that Bill was aggressive toward his owner [and maybe, by extension, to other humans] because the owner’s methods of “training” were very abusive. If the dog reached a limit on how much beating and kicking and smacking around it received, it was then “aggressive” when trying to fight back, to defend itself.

He is, like many Americans, ILL EDUCATED about animals, about animal training, and about what to do if things go wrong.

one of the single BEST things that could come of tradgedes like this, is education. he goes into schools and tells them what he did, and why it was wrong and what the better solutions are.

Most people, even those who shoot their animal, or drown thier animal, are not at the core, mean or evil - they are only doing what they are / were taught by their own families. “animals are disposable”.

It’s EDUCATION that will change attitudes like this. People at itchmo are extremely concerned with animals. but we need to remember that our views are in teh minority, and that our treatment of animals are in the minority. it doesn’t mean we or “they” are right or wrong, but it does mean we shouldn’t demonize them for not sharing our values. EDUCATE. EDUCATE. EDUCATE. that is the core of most of what we see as “society’s” ills.

ive been confronted with dogs so aggressive they need to be put down. who knows if this was really the case here as i question the judgement of anyone who would wound an animal and cruelly leave it to linger on in agony. it’s the cruelty of his act that makes it so criminally reprehensible.

There’s nothing in the article that says the dog’s aggression was the result of abuse from his owner. Some dogs can start showing aggression toward humans because of illness, the onset of puberty or simply bad breeding and temperament. It happens a lot more than most people realize.

That being said, it still does not excuse the dog owner’s cruelty. I hope now the guy has learned that shooting a dog is NOT an acceptable method of euthanization. He could have simply taken the dog to a vet and had him put down humanely because he was a bite risk. Most vets are understanding of a problem like that. If he had worked with the dog and tried every possible way of curbing his aggression, putting him down was the only option left.

It’s better to put down a dog that shows signs of being likely to attack a person than to wait for it to happen and deal with it then. Too bad for poor Bill his owner was too ignorant or lazy to do it the right way.

BTW, bigbigBIG kudos to the judge for banning this guy from ever owning a pet again! This needs to happen a LOT more in cases like this one!

This Ohio “Man” needs to be shot. Just like he shot his dog. Our society has no need for this type of evil person…..who guaranteed, will take his aggessions out again….on another animal, child, or innocent person.

don’t kid yourself Tanya. This is reality. We read about these stories almost daily on this very website to let us be aware and informed of such monsters.